ROLLING STONES

SUPER BOWL XL (2006)

No better way to keep millions of rabid, wing-sauce covered sports fans glued to their TVs than putting a few senior citizens on the 50-yard line. In most cases that strategy would fall flat, but when those senior citizens are the Stones, it’s a surefire plan. On a giant, winding stage shaped like the group’s famous lips logo, Mick and crew began with the classic kick-off anthem “Start Me Up”, ripped through “Rough Justice” and several other mid-career highlights, then wrapped it all up with the inimitable "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." Mick had the dance moves of an 18-year-old, Keith remained conscious, and an exciting time was had by all. Good thing, because the game wasn’t that riveting—the Steelers dominated the second half and sunk the Seahawks 21-10. 

AEROSMITH

SUPER BOWL XXXV (2001)

When it comes to no-holds-barred, singalong stadium rock bands, Aerosmith is one of the greats. Steven Tyler and company certainly could’ve handled the 12-minute set on their own, but to ice the cake, producers brought in ‘N Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige and Nelly for some cross-genre, multi-stage action. The show opened with ‘N Sync’s “Bye, Bye, Bye”, cut to Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”, panned back to ‘N Sync for “It’s Gonna Be Me”, and returned to Aerosmith for “Jaded”. Then, with the absurd, grandiose magic that only Super Bowl halftime shows can provide, all the remaining guests appeared at once and the whole gang closed with “Walk This Way”. And if all that glorious mess wasn’t enough, the performance included a Chris Rock, Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller comedy skit. Encore!     

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE AND JANET JACKSON

SUPER BOWL XXXVIII (2004)

Featuring the pop dream team of Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, Jessica Simpson, P. Diddy, Nelly and Kid Rock, this may have been the most star-studded halftime show in Super Bowl history. But even with all the star power, the most memorable moment was a non-musical one. At the show’s conclusion, Justin’s hand “accidentally” bumped Janet, her top came apart, censors weren’t quick enough, and the nation caught a glimpse of Jackson’s near-naked breast. The next day, amidst the fury of conservative TV advocates and ad groups, the show’s producers pleaded innocent, blaming the reveal on a “wardrobe malfunction”. The FCC issued fines, which were appealed, dismissed, re-filed and appealed again. To this day, nobody knows who paid what, but the incident remains a crown jewel of Super Bowl halftime lore. Oh, and the music was good too!

BEYONCE

SUPER BOWL XLVII (2013)

Beyonce has been wrecking stages of all shapes and sizes since she was eight years old. She’s always fierce and fiery on stage, but for the Super Bowl, she literally brought flames and destruction. To start the set, a giant silhouette of Bey was set aflame, smoke cannons were fired, and amidst an illustrious multimedia show, the lady simply torched “Crazy In Love”. Next was “Love On Top”, which involved moves and facial expressions so intense that countless memes and gifs flooded social media before the game was over. Finally, the long-awaited Destiny’s Child reunion saw Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams appear for renditions of “Single Ladies”, “Bootylicious” and “Independent Women”, complete with a full band and horn section. Then came the destruction—once her pyro-packed performance ended, a power outage struck the Superdome that delayed the second half of the game for 34 minutes.

PRINCE

SUPER BOWL XLI (2007)

Few halftime shows in the history of the Super Bowl have rocked like Prince’s XLI edition, and unlike most other performances, this one rocked without excessive guest appearances from multiple superstar musicians. The late Purple One’s set, viewed by an estimated 75,000 people in the stadium as well as approximately 140 million TV viewers, is widely considered to be the top halftime performance in the history of the NFL’s big game. The 12-minute set began with originals “Let’s Go Crazy” and “Baby I’m a Star”, segued into covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary”, the Jimi Hendrix version of “All Along The Watchtower”, and then a huge surprise, Foo Fighters’ “Best Of You”. For closer “Purple Rain”, Prince pulled out all the stops, throwing down some extended, jaw-dropping solos that Hendrix himself would’ve been hard pressed to replicate. And to top it all off, it was raining. During “Purple Rain”. C’mon.